Namecheap vs SiteGround – Close Match, but Only One Winner [2020]

Do you really get your money’s worth with Namecheap? I was bummed to find that the free domain policy doesn’t apply to premium domain names and, unlike SiteGround, not all plans are cloud-based.

But to make a fair decision about which web hosting service is better, I tested both Namecheap and SiteGround across several categories. Personally, I’m all for quality over quantity, so SiteGround wins this comparison, hands down.

Even though Namecheap charges extra if you choose a shared hosting package on a UK datacenter over the US, it’s still cheaper than SiteGround.

Namecheap also provides more storage space than SiteGround with its WordPress hosting plans. However, SiteGround is known for its WordPress hosting and all its plans are optimized for WordPress and include automatic WordPress installation and updates. Namecheap’s managed WordPress hosting plans will install WordPress for you, but you’re on your own for updates.

Both hosts offer 30-day money-back guarantees. However, SiteGround charges setup fees for its monthly subscriptions as well as renewal fees for all other subscription periods – Namecheap doesn’t.

Features

SiteGround Has More Value-Added Features Than Namecheap

SiteGround has ditched cPanel, improved its Client Area, and developed a user-friendly and highly intuitive control panel called Site Tools that makes it even easier to manage your website.

SiteGround plans include a free CDN (content delivery network) on all shared hosting and WordPress plans. You’ll have to upgrade to one of the two highest-level WordPress plans with Namecheap to get a free CDN.

See the main differences in features between Namecheap and SiteGround in this side-by-side comparison table:

Performance

Namecheap Delivers Decent Performance, but SiteGround Is More Reliable

When it comes to performance, there are two main points to look for in a good host – network uptime and website loading speed. Both Namecheap and SiteGround offer SSD drives, which perform much faster than the standard HDD storage.

While all of SiteGround’s plans are based on Google Cloud, only some of Namecheap’s plans are cloud-based. This should enhance your website’s overall performance since Google is known for maintaining one of the fastest and most powerful networks.

SiteGround has servers in the UK, the US, the Netherlands, and Singapore, while Namecheap has servers in the UK and the US. As for network uptime guarantee, Namecheap promises 99.9%, while SiteGround promises a higher uptime of 99.99%.

Namecheap doesn’t list its performance-enhancing features like SiteGround does, but it has improved its technology to ensure that its network delivers high performance and low latency. Thanks to that boost, Namecheap got an almost perfect score in our performance tests. Read our expert Namecheap review for more details.

SiteGround got a decent score in our performance tests, but didn’t do as well in terms of loading speeds. See what went wrong in our in-depth SiteGround review.

Security

SiteGround Is Ahead of the Curve on Security

This is where the competition gets tough. Both SiteGround and Namecheap take your website’s security very seriously. They both offer free SSL certificates and secure emails with anti-spam and antivirus. Unfortunately, Namecheap’s free Positive SSL certificate is only free for the first year, then it’s 50% off the second year, and full price after that.

Namecheap tries to keep up by supporting DDoS (distributed denial of service) protection and two-factor authentication. However, SiteGround races ahead by adding a web application firewall (WAF) and its own artificial intelligence anti-bot system (equivalent to DDoS protection) to protect you from external threats.

SiteGround solidifies its security win by giving its customers access to its Sucuri-developed application, SG Scanner, to be able to detect malware or any other cyber threats. With Hive technology, all of SiteGround’s shared hosting servers are also isolated from each other.

Support

It’s Faster to Get Help with SiteGround

Namecheap and SiteGround both have informative and resourceful websites. You can quickly navigate through a comprehensive knowledge base and a helpful FAQ section on both sites.

SiteGround offers detailed video tutorials on both the website and YouTube. It’s also faster to get help from SiteGround’s 24/7 live chat support or you can contact support by phone and ticket, but you need to log into the user area first to submit a ticket.

SiteGround support

In comparison, Namecheap offers 24/7 live chat and a ticket system, as well as video tutorials, but those are only available on YouTube.

SiteGround takes this round thanks to its more efficient support channels.

Namecheap support

SiteGround Is the Winner

Namecheap or SiteGround? Let’s be honest, cheap prices are always appealing, but if you’re serious about top-quality web hosting, then the cheapest option may not be the best idea.

SiteGround wins this contest overall thanks to its abundant features, reliability, excellent support, and robust security, which is also why it made it into our list of the best web hosting services. However, if SiteGround’s prices are too high for your budget, Namecheapis still a good option.

SiteGround has more data centers than Namecheap, and it isn’t cheap to maintain them. Plus SiteGround constantly monitors its servers. It also offers a free CDN, free daily backups, and additional advanced features for free. With all SiteGround’s hosting plans, you get excellent value for your money – which is why it made it into our list of the best web hosting wervices.

Does SiteGround use SSD?

Yes. All files and databases are stored on SSD disk drives rather than traditional HDD drives. SSD drives are preferable for increasing your website’s performance and speed. If SiteGround isn’t quite right for you, don’t miss our list of the best and cheapest SSD hosting services.

Mark is a full stack web developer specializing in HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, MySQL, and PHP. When he’s not busy building websites or geeking out over the latest addition to his ever-growing gadget collection, he enjoys playing drums for his progressive rock band. He can also make a mean Spanish omelet.

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